Tokyo Classical CD Scene Report February 2008

Preface:

First off, my trip started up in Nagoya, Takayama, and Hiroshima prior to going to Tokyo. If there were worthwhile stores in Nagoya or Hiroshima around the JR (Japan Railways) stations, I couldn’t find them. There was a Shinseido store in Nagoya, but the classical selection was minimal. Takayama not surprisingly didn’t have a major classical store, but then that’s not why one goes there. In the secluded Japanese Alps, there are portions of Takayama looking like Japan probably did 100-200 years ago. In the winter snow it is quite beautiful. Food there including local mountain vegetables and Hida Beef was quite memorable. FYI, exchange rate was 107 Yen to the Dollar at the time of this trip.

 
On to Tokyo.

It’s been 4 years since I last visited the Japanese capital. In the interim, Tokyo has been even more modernized with some striking new buildings and renovations. It’s much more convenient if still not ADA compliant in many places, especially in the JR and Subway stations. No big concerts were going on while I was there, though the Leipzig Gewandhaus band and Chailly were schedule to appear till their cancellation due to his illness.

HMV Shibuya.

First the bad news. The classical section in the Shibuya store seems smaller than it previously was, sharing space with the encroaching Jazz section. There did not appear to be anything special with the selection that one can’t find at Tower or Ishimaru. There was a “buy 3 for 20% off” special on domestic classical product while I was there. Still, if it was the only place one visited, one could be quite satisfied with the selection. No visit to the Shinjuku store based on this disappointment and due to time restraints.

Visible from the JR Shibuya Station “Hachiko” exit, it’s kitty corner to the intersection by the station.

 
Ishimaru in Akihabara.

Since I’ve last visited, the structuring of products has changed in the Ishimaru stores. SoftOne which used to be the alternative store for classical is now strictly J-Pop. The multi-product SoftThree now features high-end product (SACD, etc.), classical, and jazz. Across the street is SoftTwo which has J-Pop, rock, & video. This makes shopping in Akihabara more efficient.

The area around Akihabara Station has been cleaned up and features some new buildings that were under construction the last time I was there. No more muddy mess.  The rabbit warren of small electronic shops next the station is still there and presumably heaven for DYIers’ and Moders.  Lots of home electronic stores are in the area including LAOX. Ishimaru SoftThree is around the corner from the LAOX store which is visible from the Station’s “Electric Town” exit.

Back to Ishimaru.  The first floor of SoftThree is devoted to SACD, DVD-Audio, XRCD, HMCD (presumably like XRCD), and Glass CDs (more on this in a sec). There is classical, jazz, and rock/pop product on this floor. The selection is quite good. There were pushes toward the new Macal/Czech Phil Maher 9^th and the van Zweden Bruckner 5^th on Exton on the classical side. The jazz emphasis was on the new hybrid SACD/CD releases of Miles Davis’ Columbia/Sony catalog which was previously issued as separate product.  There was a special display of HMCD product featuring DG classical as well as rock & roll issues.

Think the high-end with its mega bucks equipment & accessories are excessively expensive? Try Glass CDs. Presumably like glass masters these discs are made of glass. Prices range from 25000 to 35000 Yen. (yes @250-350 USD) I had to look twice when seeing the extra zero! There was a van Zweden Exton Bruckner disc & the von K first DG Beethoven 9^th on display. No idea of what they sounded like.  Most other SACD/High-end discs from Japanese manufacturers were in the 2500 to 3500 Yen range per disc. BMG Living Stereo hybrids ranged in price from 1000-1800 Yen. Asahina’s Osaka Phil Bruckner Symphonies on Pony/Canyon has been re-released in SACD/Hybrid format. The Bernstein Columbia/Sony Mahler cycle is now available as SACD/Hybrid discs.

A selection of Universal Japan classical re-issues on LP was also available here along with some Acoustic Sound and Fantasy Jazz.

Upper floors still had a large selection of bootlegs (surprising in the download era). Some of the bootleg stuff was available on Memories (which shows up at Berkshire from time to time). These included a Tennstedt/Boston SO Brahms program with Miriam Fried from Tanglewood and the Carlos Kleiber/MET Der Rosenkavalier. Pricing about 900-980 Yen per disc.

Lots of box sets were on sale from domestic as well as import sources. There was an increased DVD-video section as in many other Tokyo retailers. Pushes were on for the Karajan and Asahina centennials with demos of Sony and NHK programs. The Asahina videos included some of his NHK Symphony Bruckner concerts. The Dreamlife Kubelik release with Barenboim in the Brahms 2^nd PC was also on display (region 2 however) The rehearsal bit with Sawallish, Kempe, Reiger, and Kubelik playing Bach was interesting. Pricing in the 4900 Yen range.

The centennials of Karajan and Asahina were celebrated by big displays of their CDs from DG, EMI, and NHK. Toshiba-EMI had a big Lili Kraus product push going on with a new edition of her discs. Various incarnations of the Furtwangler Bayreuth Beethoven 9^th were on display including the recent Orfeo. Ishimaru still seems to have quite a number of US/Euro imports as well. There was a new Universal “Originals” selection of Puccini operas being issued while I was there.  Pianists would have liked the large selection of Russian pianist’s recordings at Ishimaru. There were a number of J-classics discs and crossover discs being promoted in store including a hideous one by the Ex-Mrs. Andrew Lloyd Dubya disc.

Displays continue to cater to local buyers. Selections are divided up in CD sections by symphonies, other orchestral works, concerti, solo recordings, chamber music, vocal music, and opera. On top of that local product is separated by floors from import product. No English translations, back stock discs displayed spine out, with store information sometimes covering label/title information. I think I got a discount for spending quite a bit here and they do offer junk like CD jewel boxes, slip cases, & calendars as freebies if you purchase X value of product.

 
Tower Records Shibuya and Shinjuku

Tower Records is live and well in Japan. Both the Shibuya superstore and the Shinjuku store are must visits, especially if time is limited. The large selection, plus divider cards in English make it a lot easier to shop than any other store in Tokyo.

No encroachment of other genres here. The classical section in both stores is still excellent. Pretty much of the same product that was available at Ishimaru is available here except for the bootlegs.

There was a Denon/Supraphon “Best 100” display as one entered the classical floor in the Shibuya Store. Unlike a lot of western “Best” discs, the Japanese have complete performances of some pretty credible programs and artists. Still much of the lists are of orchestral and chamber music. There was a Georges Pretre display no doubt in conjunction with the 2008 Vienna New Year’s Concert. There were a couple of Vienna Symphony Mahler discs with him conducting on display as well. Lots of former eastern European recordings on Deutschshallplatten on display with a lot of Heinz Rogner stuff. There was one bin of CD/DVDs at half/price near the register in the Shibuya store. The selection of wind instrument solo recordings was most impressive in Shibuya and there was a Yutaka Sado conducts Bernstein recording with wind band being played while I was there. There is a decent selection of Japanese record/music magazines and Gramophone on sale at Tower. In addition, one can find a bunch of pocket sized scores of Soviet era composers that aren’t cheaply available in the U.S. due to current copyright laws. Meloydia and Venezia releases of Russian recordings were abundant as well. A big plus for visiting Tower is the availability of their Precious 1000, Vintage, & Heritage series of recordings from mostly RCA/BMG, Universal, and Japanese classical labels. I picked up the Kondrashin/Bavarian RSO Shostakovich 13^th symphony, a couple of Leinsdorf/BSO programs, and the Hunsberger/EWE recording of 20^th century band music here. A bunch of the Heritage series included an Asahina/Osaka Shostakovich 5^th & Mahler 8^th program. Copies of the listings of the entire series to date were available to peruse. I even saw the Final Alice disc that Ducky was interested here. If you like Ozawa, his Saito Kinen recordings are all available, including a new Shostakovich 5^th. Missed by one day was a new recording of Mahler’s 10^th Symphony with Daniel Harding and the Vienna Philharmonic on DG. The Shinjuku store has a similar if smaller selection of discs including a Naxos display. I was able to find the out of print Chailly/RCOA Radio Netherlands box at the Shinjuku store (though if I had waited a half hour, I could have found it for about 70 dollars less).  Most sales items were only 10% off.

In addition to having English divider cards, Tower stores do have new product displays and listening stations making it easier to look for discs. There are special sections for solo instruments, historic recordings, and 20^th-21^st century music. English speaking help at both stores was non-existent on this visit. Still Tower is the best bet for English speaking shoppers in Tokyo.

The Shibuya Tower is accessed by exiting the “Hachiko” exit of the JR Shibuya Station and crossing the famous barn dance cross walk. There’s a Starbucks on the right side of the start of the street where it’s located on. It’s located a few minutes walk down the street.

The Shinjuku Tower is accessed by the “South East Exit” exit of the very busy JR Shinjuku Station. It is right out side the exit to the left. I think the building is called “Flags” and has an Oshman sporting goods store on the lower floors below Tower.

Yamano Gakki Ginza

If you happen to be on a tour of Tokyo with no free time, I hope it includes the famous Ginza District where you can at least shop at Yamano Gakki. Yamano is an old time full service music store (est. 1892) that includes the sales of musical instruments. There is an entire floor dedicated to classical CDs and DVDs. While not as extensive as Tower, it still is an excellent place to shop with a varied selection of product. The classical DVD section has expanded since my last visit. Time was limited on this trip so I only ended up buying a horn CD, but I’m sure if I spent more time, I could have bought more.

The store is located near the big Ginza intersection with the Mitsukoshi and Wako department stores. There is an excellent Kimura-ya bakery next door to Yamano and the Akebono manju shop is around the corner near the Sony showroom. Nearest JR station is Yurakocho and nearest subway is the Ginza Line station. 

Disk Union Ochanomizu and Shinjuku

The Ochanomizu continues to have some interesting used materials on CD and LP. In addition, there are new Memories “historical” issues and a series of discs based on the 78 collection of Christopher N. Nozawa. I ended picking up a promo Walter rehearsal disc and a Greek Sony Mitropoulos set which is supposed to have an amazing Prokofiev 3^rd piano with DM as the soloist/conductor with the “Robin Hood Dell” (aka Philadelphia) orchestra. While checking out, I asked about a supposed new classical Disk Union in Shinjuku. I was told that it was “even bigger” than the Ochanomizu store. I was quite stunned and had to make plans to visit.

Since time was limited the next day when I made it to the new Shinjuku Disk Union, I spent only about 1 hour which was not enough. It is a must visit store for fans of used CD’s and especially for first time visitors to Tokyo looking for used Japanese CDs. The floor space is about twice the size of the Ochanomizu store and has a huge selection of polycarbonate & vinyl discs. In my experience it is currently the world’s greatest used classical CD store with a caveat. If you’ve been purchasing a lot of Japanese product over the years either in person or on-line, you may have a lot of the stuff for sale here. If you’re new to the Japanese disc market it’s a must visit, especially if don’t mind older issues of things such as Asahina’s Osaka recordings on Pony/Canyon. I also saw a box of Asahina’s Victor recordings. There’s a fair number of “Best 100” series discs interspersed in the shelves, but at least these “Best” series have worthwhile performances available. New discs are available though not at the Tower or HMV level. The used opera and vocal section was quite big as well. A quick scan of the LP section showed some interesting if pricey discs from all over the world.

Oddly enough, I ended up not buying anything! This was in part due to time limitations. The one thing I would have bought was a used copy of the Radio Netherlands Chailly/RCOA box which I had purchased new only a half hour earlier. If I had waited I could have saved 70 USD.

No time for a visit to the Kichijouji store on this trip.

The Disk union stores are laid out by symphonies and symphonic works by composer, solo works with orchestra, historic conductor, baroque, instrumental, chamber, vocal, and opera. There was also a clearance section. Divider cards are in Japanese only. LPs are in the back of the store. There was a sale going on while I was there based on the price tag color.

The Ochanomizu store can be accessed by taking the JR Chuo line from JR Shinjuku Station to the JR Ochanomizu Station. Exit via the Ochanomizubashi exit. The store is located on the opposite side of the street parallel to the station. Cross the street from the station diagonally at the intersection and it’s about a minute walk. There are other Disk Union stores in the area catering to other genres.

The Shinjuku store is located at the opposite end of the JR Shinjuku station from Tower records. Take the “East” exit (also known as the “Studio Alta” exit.). Across the street to the right of the station is the “Sakura” building. Go down this street where you’ll see a Mitsukoshi department store on the right side of the street. Disk Union is located on the left side of the street just beyond the famous Kinokuniya Bookstore. It’s located in a non-descript building on the 8^th floor. The 3^rd floor has rock-pop.

Miscellanea:

If you do some homework by preparing a list of stuff you’re looking for including label & catalog number (usually available from HMV and Tower Japan websites) you can have store staff look for product for you. If you can learn katakana, it makes it easier to read labels.

It looks like downloading is starting to make inroads in Japan. Tower Japan now pushes Napster as a way to get music.

The Shinseido record store that used be in Takanawa West by the Shinagawa Price Hotel is no longer there having been replaced by an Internet restaurant. The bookstore where one could buy Record Geijutsu is still there.  I never made it to the Ebisu Shinseido store so I can’t report on it.

Try to avoid Tokyo shopping on Sundays and National Holidays…the mass of humanity is unbelievable especially in places like the Ginza and Harajuku. The closest thing I can compare to in the U.S. is Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Tokyo is still a walking city and one needs to pace one’s self while CD/LP shopping. Try to limit yourself to one store/area per day to allow yourself to do other things. The public transportation is not completely ADA compliant so those of you who have problems getting around might want to take the time to read the station maps. Some platforms may require assistance from station staff. For example I noticed that at one station there was no elevator for wheelchairs and the staff modifies the escalator for use with them.  In some cases one has to go a ways to find an elevator or escalator on a subway platform.

If you’re spending time traveling around Japan a JR Railpass is a must. Its best selling point in Tokyo is that you don’t have to fumble around for fare change on the city’s JR routes.

Unlike NYC where the clean up of the city has made it loose some of its character, I kinda liked the modernization of Tokyo especially around the Akihabara, Shinagawa, Shinjuku, and Yurakocho JR stations. The areas seem cleaner and safer. Plus some of the architecture is quite stunning in the new buildings in the area.

The poor dollar makes shopping for CD’s in Japan very expensive (Feb. 2008) Your best bet is to buy Japanese only issues.

Good Hunting (I’ll try and add maps/pictures/links as time allows). Added 02/15/2008